BURBANK : Ordinance Meeting Is Being Discussed

Burbank Mayor George Battey Jr. has volunteered to bring together all the sides fighting over a historic preservation ordinance that has been almost two years in the making.

“One thing that has never been done is to have all the players sit down with each other,” said Gary Sutliff, president of the Burbank Historical Society, which has been trying to get the city to pass the preservation ordinance.

The purpose of the ordinance would be to devise a mechanism by which buildings could be designated historic and protected by the city. But arguments have raged over how to protect historic buildings without infringing on the property rights of the buildings’ owners.

In February, the historical society reached a compromise with the Burbank Chamber of Commerce under which property owners would have to consent to have their buildings designated historical. But later the City Council removed provisions of the ordinance that restricted what owners could do with a historic site.

That alienated the historical society, which has refused to take part in the process ever since.

Battey said he wanted to get “all the parties together in one room and close the door,” to work out a solution.